This evening I finally cheated on DJI...

No, I didn't go Autel...

I finally plucked up the guts to step away from DJI Fly to try the Maven Lite app.

Only a 15min flight to try the CoPilot features... But as soon as I got things packed up I paid my money and activated the app (just the video recording side of things which is disabled during the trial period - I have no need for the VR).

Got to say I love it already... I can see it being really useful and it seemed to work flawlessly.

(And I've got it syncing with AirData as well, so have my flight logs combined in one place.)

This shows the value of the SDK.  Drones like the Mavic 3 that lack a SDK do not have the Maven opportunity.  Or Dronelink, Drone Deploy, Litchi, etc.

Just dont delete the fly app,   if that app crashes you may need to go into the fly app to regain control.    I had a test of another app that uses the SDK and got into the position where the drone was hovering but no commands or stick inputs would control the drone,   restarting the app did nothing so I fired up and the fly app and I was back in control immediately.  I now stay away from most of the cheap SDK apps.

DAFlys Posted at 3-19 00:49
Just dont delete the fly app,   if that app crashes you may need to go into the fly app to regain control.    I had a test of another app that uses the SDK and got into the position where the drone was hovering but no commands or stick inputs would control the drone,   restarting the app did nothing so I fired up and the fly app and I was back in control immediately.  I now stay away from most of the cheap SDK apps.

I said I was cheating... I've not applied for a decree nisi!

My worry was seeing something like you describe. Particularly when something like Maven actually changes what the sticks do - that surprised me a bit, I expected that the RC would continue to function as normal as a failsafe (although not sure how that could work in practice).

In fact as the Maven UI looks a bit Mickey Mouse in places, my confidence was not that high. (I did a five minute test flight with DJI Fly beforehand to check everything was 100% as expected before trying Maven). But in use the app was rock solid and very responsive.

Even with the Fly app I am 'expecting' a crash or hang up or other issue, so it's maybe just an extra notch up of caution for me

TonyPHX Posted at 3-18 15:05
This shows the value of the SDK.  Drones like the Mavic 3 that lack a SDK do not have the Maven opportunity.  Or Dronelink, Drone Deploy, Litchi, etc.

I just wish DJI would add some of these features to the FLY app.

I can understand the commercial aspect (although if prefer that to be based on hardware capability than just start software lock outs).

And I can understand why follow me is not implemented by DJI on drones without OA - they effectively be according flying into obstacles!

But when you have quickshots which can fly into obstacles anyway of not used correctly, I don't see why things like PoI focus are not included. To me these would actually be a safety improvement as you could concentrate more on flying the aircraft rather than having to have one eye on video feed

That's why I tried Maven. Not so much for the follow me - I doubtI will ever use that - but selecting a PoI and having the drone keep turned towards that and tilt the gimbal appropriately while flying a complex pattern... That is a very very useful feature.

Nothing wrong with trying out a new software based on the SDK.  It always amazes me what some of the 3rd party Apps will do that aren't allowed in the Fly App.

Interesting to read!

Interesting findings. I've been a Litchi user for several years and find it equally as reliable as DJI Go4 or DJI Fly, with 4 different DJI drones.  Ccan't use it with the Mini3Pro though, as I have the dedicated RC.

No Original Thought Posted at 3-19 01:21
I said I was cheating... I've not applied for a decree nisi!

My worry was seeing something like you describe. Particularly when something like Maven actually changes what the sticks do - that surprised me a bit, I expected that the RC would continue to function as normal as a failsafe (although not sure how that could work in practice).

Good valid points there.

I didn't know the DJI quads were compatible with different apps.

CorsairPilot Posted at 3-23 10:08
I didn't know the DJI quads were compatible with different apps.

DJI release an SDK (Software Development Kit) for their drones eventually, and that allows other developers to build apps that can control them.

Not all drones have had the SDK released, and those that do tend to appear a year or two after the drone's release from what I've seen.

The Mini 2 SDK was released last year some time.